Henrietta Maria

Henrietta Maria

(mərī`ə), 1609–69, queen consort of Charles ICharles I,1600–1649, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1625–49), second son of James I and Anne of Denmark. Early Life

He became heir to the throne on the death of his older brother Henry in 1612 and was made prince of Wales in 1616......Click the link for more information. of England, daughter of Henry IVHenry IV,1553–1610, king of France (1589–1610) and, as Henry III, of Navarre (1572–1610), son of Antoine de Bourbon and Jeanne d'Albret; first of the Bourbon kings of France......Click the link for more information. of France. She married Charles in 1625. Although she was devoted and loyal to her husband, her Roman Catholic faith made her suspect in England. By her negotiations with the pope, with foreign powers, and with English army officers, she added to the suspicions against Charles that helped to precipitate (1642) the English civil war. After 1644 she lived in France, making continual efforts to secure foreign aid for her husband until his execution in 1649. She returned (1660) to England after the Restoration, but resumed living in France in 1665. Her influence may have affected the religious beliefs of her sons Charles IICharles II,1630–85, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1660–85), eldest surviving son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria. Early Life

Prince of Wales at the time of the English civil war, Charles was sent (1645) to the W of England with his council,.....Click the link for more information. and James IIJames II,1633–1701, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1685–88); second son of Charles I, brother and successor of Charles II. Early Life.....Click the link for more information., although she herself was unsuccessful in her attempts to convert them to Catholicism.

Bibliography

See biography by E. Hamilton (1976); study by Q. Bone (1972).

Henrietta Maria

1609--69, queen of England (1625--49), the wife of Charles I; daughter of Henry IV of France. Her Roman Catholicism contributed to the unpopularity of the crown in the period leading to the Civil War

Apart from the way this happy event encouraged closer ties between the royal families, the cash-strapped Charles wanted the war to end so that he could collect on the balance of the dowry promised to him on his 1625 marriage to Henrietta Maria.

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